The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for installing bearings on engine components, and more particularly to a method of and an apparatus for automatically selecting and installing semicylindrical bearings between connecting rods and a crankshaft and between a cylinder block and the crankshaft without manual intervention while an internal combustion engine is being assembled.
In internal combustion engines for automobiles or the like, the linear reciprocating motion of pistons which is repeated at high speeds is converted via connecting rods to the rotational motion of a crankshaft. Highly wear-resistant bearings are fitted between the connecting rods and the crankshaft and also between the crankshaft and the cylinder block in which pistons are reciprocally fitted to prevent these relatively moving engine components from being worn.
It is practically impossible to eliminate the dimensional errors of these engine components which are produced when the engine components are machined. To meet such dimensional errors, a plurality of bearing types that are dimensionally different by a few micrometers are available so that proper bearings which match the machining accuracy of a particular engine component can be selected and installed.
Each of the engine components on which bearings are to be mounted is measured for dimensions after it has been machined, and the dimensional data items are noted at a suitable location. For installing bearings on an engine component, the worker reads the noted dimensional data of the engine component, and bearings that match the dimensional data are selected and mounted.
However, the bearings that can be installed on engine components are available in quite many types which are dimensionally different. Since bearings are required to be installed on an engine component at many locations thereon, it is highly laborious for the worker to select and install appropriate bearings. Such an assembling procedure is also tedious. Inasmuch as the available bearing types are different by only slight dimensional variations, typically a few micrometers, the worker is more liable to cause installing errors as he is subjected to more fatigue. If any wrong bearings are installed on an engine component, such bearings will suffer from seizure, often causing abnormal heating while the engine is in operation.